2014

Record of Policy Statements (RoPS)

Israel’s Ground Invasion

Conference condemns Israel’s ground invasion, aerial and marine bombing of Gaza, and calls on Green Party and Green Party elected representatives to take what steps they can to put existing Green Party policy into action and to ensure that the underlying causes are addressed, acknowledging there can be no lasting peace without justice.

Such steps include:

  • Reiterating our calls on the UN, the EU and the US government to ensure that Israel complies with international law;
  • Supporting these calls by active participation in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. This campaign aims to put pressure on the government of Israel to end the Occupation and to give equal rights to Palestinians. The campaign asks individuals, organisations, councils and governments to refuse to deal with companies and institutions identified as facilitating Israel’s military capacity, human rights abuses or illegal settlement activity.
  • In particular to demand that the UK government halts all joint Israeli/UK military cooperation and approval for all arms sales to Israel.

Passed Autumn 2014

Nature and Wellbeing Act

The Green Party of England and Wales, in response to the Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB, commits to including a promise of a new Nature and Wellbeing Act in our General Election manifesto. We call on all other political parties to do the same.

This bill should include:

  • A long-term commitment to specific targets for nature’s recovery
  • The establishment of the Natural Capital Committee in law, to scrutinise the environmental impact of new laws, and propose new policies for incorporating the value (not just financial) of nature in decision-making.
  • An effective mechanism for creating a national ecological network – composed of numerous local ecological networks developed locally and to include the seas within UK jurisdiction, but to a high common standard
  • A system to encourage the local support for and targeting of action to recover nationally threatened species
  • Specific targets to ensure that people and especially children are able to connect to nature where they live
  • An amendment to Section 78 of the Education Act to include care for the natural environment in the curriculum.

Passed Autumn 2014

Stop TTIP

The proposed EU-US trade deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, will be a disaster for the UK and for the EU. Green MEPs have been at the forefront of campaigns to stop TTIP and have voted against it. There has also been opposition from US Greens.

TTIP negotiations are being conducted with barely any public or democratic input or oversight. Although other trade deals have been negotiated beyond the reach of public scrutiny, the scale of TTIP makes its impact much greater and the need for public, democratic oversight even more urgent.

Big business has had excessive influence over the negotiations. In the preparatory phase, of the 590 meetings which took place between the EU Commission and lobby representatives, 92% were with representatives of private companies.

TTIP will undermine the rule of law by establishing a parallel justice system if it includes the proposed Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS). ISDS gives powers to private arbitration panels to require compensation to private companies deemed to have suffered losses as a result of EU or national laws, with no recourse to appeal. ISDS will have a chilling effect on public policy, undermines democracy, and strengthens the power of private corporations.

The TTIP deal would lead to ‘harmonising’ of EU and US laws. This could lead to high standards in the EU or USA being lowered. This could have serious impacts on workers’ rights, environment, animal protection and food safety standards, digital rights and financial regulation.

TTIP will make liberalisation and privatisation ‘one way streets’. Returning public utilities, hospitals or waste collection to the public sector once privatised will be much more difficult or even impossible under TTIP. This represents a real threat to the NHS and other public services. Conference calls on the Green Party Executive, Greens elected to public office, and Green Party candidates and members to:

Support and sign the ‘Stop TTIP’ European Citizens’ Initiative, which is launching in September, and which will require the EU Commission to take action if it receives one million EU signatures.[*]

Support and publicise the European Day of Action against TTIP on Saturday 11 October.

Call for MEPs and MPs from all parties to oppose TTIP

Advocate a fair and sustainable EU trade policy, based on the Alternative Trade Mandate coalition proposals.

[*] See http://stop-ttip.org

Passed Autumn 2014

Peace and Democracy in Ukraine

Conference condemns the diplomatic ineptitude and inaction which has allowed Ukraine to descend into death, division and devastation. We call on upon the UK government, and every member government of the UN security council to immediately call an emergency meeting of the UN security council. At that meeting a resolution should be proposed which:

  • Calls for an immediate permanent ceasefire
  • Calls for a peacekeeping force to be placed in areas at highest risk of renewed conflict
  • Calls for near immediate parliamentary elections, essential since the resignation of the last government
  • Calls for maximum international assistance for reconstruction, humanitarian and medical aid
  • Calls for UN monitors to ensure elections are free and fair.

Conference asks for GPEx to widely publicize this position, both nationally and internationally so that it gets the widest possible support.

Passed Autumn 2014

Occupy Democracy

Green Party Conference pledges support for Occupy Democracy.

Occupy democracy is a campaign for real democracy, to be launched by a 9 day occupation of parliament square between 17th October and Sunday 26th of October.

The purpose of the camp is to create a space that allows different groups and campaigns to make common cause.

The camp will be outward facing and solutions focused. Each day of the occupation will cover different themes, and provide a platform for prominent voices to broadcast an inspiring vision of the real alternatives to the current downward spiral of the politics of vested interests – the 1% – that have bought off our political system.

Passed Autumn 2014

Health and Social Care Act

The Green Party seeks to repeal the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, and restore responsibility to the Minister of health to provide a comprehensive health service.

The Green Party seeks to repeal the right of the Minister of Health to close hospitals or hospital departments without effective public consultation.

Passed Autumn 2014

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

The Green Party of England and Wales believes that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP),which aims at removing the regulatory differences between the US and the EU, is an assault on democracy. It would likely lead to the weakening of EU social and environmental legislation and ensure that new European legislation does not stand in the way of corporate interests. The Green Party will campaign against this agreement in order to protect legislation in areas such as environmental protection, workers’ rights, health (including the NHS) and animal welfare and will make this issue a central part of its forthcoming European Parliament Election Campaign.

Passed Spring 2014

Making Corporations Responsible

To make corporations behave responsibly we must require them to have regard to fair remuneration for all workers and behave in a socially and environmentally responsible way.

We will do this by:

  • Changing company rules so that large and medium sized companies must take account of the environmental and social impact of their activities.
  • Such companies will be required to undertake an annual audit and provide a public report giving details of water and energy use, waste management, resource efficiency measures undertaken and the social and environmental impact of their activities.
  • The report would include information on any warnings or prosecutions for equality, diversity and environmental offences.

Passed Spring 2014

National Security Agency (NSA) and Snowden, Whistle Blowing and Surveillance

The Green Party of England and Wales believes that illegal mass surveillance must be opposed. The Green Party will campaign against such surveillance and will act to protect whistle blowers such as Snowden who oppose illegal intrusion by the state.

The Green Party of England and Wales believes Edward Snowden should be granted political asylum in a European Union (EU) state of his choice. The United Kingdom (UK) government must take joint action with other states to protect its citizens and companies from espionage and mass surveillance including a parliamentary inquiry into the national security measures that abuse the privacy of the public.

The EU must press for the immediate completion of negotiations on a data protection framework agreement for the law enforcement sector between the EU and the US, before considering future trade and security treaties.

The current Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), Passenger Name Record (PNR) and Safe Harbour agreements between the US and the European Union should be suspended and then renegotiated. The European Court of Human Rights should check the alleged actions of intelligence services to determine if they are in breach of article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Passed Spring 2014

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